1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to beverage holders. and more particularly, to a free-hanging beverage container holder assembly that easily and conveniently attaches to a person""s belt. The beverage holder employs a spring loaded clip to securely fasten the beverage holder to the belt.
2. Description of Related Art
Enjoying a refreshing beverage is frequently hampered by the need to place the beverage in a convenient location while the consumer is not drinking. If the consumer is moving around from one location to another and leaves the beverage behind, it becomes necessary to return to the location where the beverage was left each time he/she wishes to imbibe. This scenario is both inconvenient and time consuming.
In public areas (shopping malls, amusement parks, etc.) the usual practice forces the consumer to hand-carry a beverage, which is awkward, restrictive, and potentially messy should the beverage spill. Furthermore, hand-carrying a beverage requires the constant attention of the person carrying the drink, therefore, the enjoyment of any activity is greatly diminished.
The prior art describes a number of clothes-attachable holders that are used to hold a variety of items. For example, a ball holder is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,338, issued on May 26, 1981 to B. F. Sichel. The ball holder is capable of retaining one or two balls and can be easily attached to a person""s clothing. The ball holder consists of a vertical strut member, an upper planar ball retaining member extending outwardly from the upper edge of the strut member, a lower planar ball retaining member extending outwardly from the lower edge of the strut member, and a cylindrical ball retaining member joined to the central portion of the strut member and lying between the upper and lower planar ball retaining members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,273, issued on Nov. 24, 1987 to B. T. Grant, describes a container holder that is attachable to a person""s belt. The container holder can support an open drink container in an upright position so that the container can be removed to consume its contents. The holder consists of a structure for receiving an open drink container in a supporting relationship so that the container is maintained in a substantially upright position and can be withdrawn to consume a drink, and a structure for attaching the container receiving structure to a belt.
An insulated belt-attached beverage can holder is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,951, issued on Apr. 21, 1998 to J. Jack. The beverage can holder consists of a receptacle unit, a receptacle lid unit, a belt clip unit, and a tether/hinge unit. The belt clip is operatively attached to the beverage receptacle unit and the tether/hinge unit forms the operative attachment between the receptacle unit and the receptacle lid unit. The tether/hinge unit also provides an auxiliary belt retention member should the belt clip unit be dislodged from the belt or experience a structural failure.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to disclose the instant invention as will subsequently be described and claimed.
The present invention comprises a hands-free holder assembly which supports a beverage container in an easily accessible location. The holder assembly of the present invention employs a spring loaded clip to fasten and secure the body portion of the holder to a person""s belt or waistband. A pivotally mounted bracket disposed near the base of the body portion receives a beverage container. The bracket is designed to assume a pendular motion which, allows the wearer of the holder assembly to move about in an unrestricted manner.
The holder assembly comprises an irregular shaped body portion and a detachable receptacle. The receptacle has a posteriorly-disposed, elongated handle or clip that inserts into a slot defined in the pivotally mounted bracket. The structural integrity of the receptacle is maintained by a plastic sub-frame or skeleton. The receptacle has an expandable neoprene or xe2x80x9ckooziexe2x80x9d type body which serves to keep hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a holder assembly for a beverage container that is convenient and easy to use.
It is another object of the invention to provide a holder assembly which functions to maintain the temperature of the beverage either hot or cold.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a holder assembly for a beverage container, which holder assembly is easily secured to a person""s belt or waistband.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a holder assembly for a beverage container, which holder assembly can accommodate different beverage container sizes.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which are inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing their intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.